The female is a duller version of the male, with brownish black upperparts and a grey or buff tone to the shoulders and underparts.

The nest is a neat cup built in a tree by both adults, and the clutch is normally 4–6 eggs, which are incubated by the female for 14–16 days until hatching.

The masked shrike eats mainly large insects, occasionally small vertebrates; it sometimes impales its prey on thorns or barbed wire.

A later synonym from 1844 was L. leucometopon from the Greek leukos, "white", and metopon, "forehead", describing a feature of the distinctive head pattern.

[8] "Shrike", first recorded in 1545, derives from the shrill cries given by this family,[9] and the traditional common name "butcher-bird" again refers to the characteristic prey storage,[6] and has been in use since at least 1668.

[3][11] The female is a duller version of the male, with brownish-black upperparts and a grey or buff tinge to the white shoulder patches and underparts.

[13] The masked shrike gives the harsh calls typical of this family, with repeated tsr, tzr or shek notes and some whistles, and when alarmed produces a rattling krrrr.

The masked shrike breeds in the Balkans and Western Asia: southern Bulgaria, eastern Republic of North Macedonia, northeast Greece and some of the Greek islands, Turkey, Cyprus and from Syria south to Israel.

Smaller numbers are found west to eastern Mali and Nigeria, and in northern Kenya and southern Saudi Arabia.

Most birds leave the breeding areas in late August and September, and return north in February and March.

[13] This species is seen in Egypt, Jordan and Israel much more often in spring than autumn, suggesting that the southern movement may be concentrated further east.

Birds will hold small territories on about 0.5 hectares (1.2 acres) on migration, and, unlike other shrikes, may congregate in significant numbers.

This shrike has occurred as a vagrant in Algeria, Finland, Kenya, Libya, Spain, Sweden,[13] Mauritania and Turkmenistan.

It may occur in gardens and resorts on migration, and in winter again prefers open country with thorny bushes and large trees like acacia or introduced eucalyptus.

[15] The nest, built by both sexes, is a small, neat cup of rootlets, stems and twigs, lined with wool or hair, and adorned with lichen externally.

[24] Despite its relatively small size, the masked shrike has been recorded as killing species such as lesser whitethroat and little swift.

[3] Vertebrates are killed by bill blows to the back of the head, and the tomial teeth are then used to separate the neck bones.

[12] The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) estimates the European population of the masked shrike to be between 105,000–300,000 individuals, suggesting a global total of 142,000–600,000 birds.

The large numbers and extensive breeding range of about 353,000 km2 (136,000 sq mi),[25] mean that this shrike is classified by the IUCN as being of least concern.

[26] Numbers have declined in recent decades in Europe, although Bulgaria, Greece and Cyprus still have several thousand breeding pairs.

The species is declining in Greece and Turkey because of habitat loss, and a large decrease in Israel is thought to be due to pesticides.